Mass Extinction Event (Book 8): Days 109 to 116 Read online

  He's so close, I can almost -

  Suddenly another zombie slams into me, having apparently managed to climb onto the side of the train. I turn and slam the butt of the rifle into its face, but I have to hit it several more times before it falls away. Then I turn and hold my hand out again, and finally I'm just about able to grab Toad.

  He leaps up and slams into the railing, and I struggle for a moment before eventually managing to help pull him onto the engine.

  “I thought you weren't going to make it for a moment!” I shout, as the engine shudders and I look down to see that we've run over several zombies, leaving their mangled corpses on the tracks.

  “Seriously?” Toad says. “You doubted me?” He turns and looks back at the rest of the train, which is far away now. “Yeah,” he adds, “I guess there was a moment there when things seemed pretty bad.”

  “Never do anything like that again,” I reply.

  “Hey!” one of the drivers yells, and I turn to see that he's waving at us frantically.

  “What does he want?” Thomas asks.

  “We should clear the herd soon,” Toad points out.

  “Hey!” The driver's still waving, and after a moment he seems to be pointing at something.

  “I don't get it,” I whisper, “what -”

  Suddenly another zombie lunges at me from the side of the carriage, grabbing my shoulders and slamming me into the railing. I scream, but I just about manage to hold on as the stench of rotten flesh fills my nostrils. My rifle falls away and lands down on the tracks, and the creature's weight is pressing against me, but then Toad slams into the zombie and knocks it off me and I quickly pull myself back up.

  “That thing seemed to come out of nowhere!” I gasp, turning to Thomas and then seeing a shocked expression on his face as he looks past me.

  I turn, and I feel a sudden punch of panic in my chest as I see that Toad and the zombie fell from the train and slammed into the ground next to the track. As the engine continues to pick up speed, they're already getting left behind.

  “No!” I scream, turning to the driver. “Stop!”

  “I can't!” he yells, as we run over more zombies. “We're dead if we're stop!”

  “But you have to!” I shout, before turning to look back at Toad again. “We can't -”

  And that's when I see it.

  Toad is fighting off several zombies with his bare hands. We're getting further and further away, but even from here I can see that he's being overwhelmed. Two zombies are biting his neck, and I can just about make out the sight of blood spraying from the wound. And then, slowly, he drops to his knees, and two more zombies fall onto him and he crumples, and as the train continues to pull away all I can do is scream.

  Day 116

  Thomas

  After a moonless night, the first light of morning begins to spread across the landscape and I see that we're in a fairly built-up environment, maybe the outer suburbs of some city. The engine is rattling along at a good speed now, having made it through the night without any apparent problems.

  I didn't sleep, of course.

  I'm exhausted, but at the same time I'm not sure I'll ever be able to sleep again.

  “Where are we?” I whisper, but to be honest these suburbs look pretty nondescript and we're going too fast for me to be able to read any signs.

  Turning, I see that Elizabeth is still huddled over by the railing, still staring with tear-filled eyes at the track as it falls away behind us. I open my mouth to say something, hoping to somehow make her feel better, but words feel completely inadequate right now. She seems to be lost in her own world, which is how she's been ever since we lost Toad yesterday. I think she's in shock, or maybe something worse than shock.

  She seems almost completely catatonic.

  Hearing a bumping sound nearby, I turn and see a face peering out at me from the door that leads into the main part of the engine. I turn and scramble over, and finally I look inside and see Polly. The other children are behind her, and they're all staring at me as if they're expecting me to do or say something.

  “Are you guys okay in there?” I ask.

  “Where are we going?” Polly replies.

  “I'm not sure yet.”

  “Why don't you know?”

  “I just don't. But wherever it is, it'll be somewhere better than where we were before.”

  Polly stares at me, and then she furrows her brow.

  “Does the driver of the train know?” she asks.

  “Last time I spoke to him,” I reply, “he said he had no choice. He can't change any of the parts where the tracks overlap, so he just has to see where we end up.”

  “But what if we end up somewhere bad?”

  “We won't,” I say, although I can hear the doubt in my own voice. “Just... don't be scared. We handled Boston, and we'll handle wherever we go next.”

  “I'm hungry. And thirsty.”

  “We'll get something to eat soon. I promise.”

  I wait, but she seems to be all out of questions, at least for now. I force a smile, hoping to reassure her, and then I crawl back to the rear of the engine, where Elizabeth is still staring into space. I've left her alone for so long now, and I figure I have to try talking to her at some point.

  “Hey,” I say finally. “Did you sleep?”

  I wait, but she doesn't reply. She doesn't even show any sign that she heard me.

  “I don't know where we are,” I continue. “I guess we've just had to go where the tracks take us. We didn't stop during the night to change the signals anywhere.”

  Again I wait, again she seems completely oblivious.

  “I'm sorry,” I add finally. “About Toad, I mean. You guys were obviously pretty close.”

  She still doesn't say anything, so I turn and lean back against the railing. Watching the passing buildings, I can't help but feel completely hollow. After everything that happened over the past twenty-four hours, being alive should feel like a victory, but I can't help thinking about what we lost along the way.

  “It was my fault,” Elizabeth says suddenly, and I turn to see that she's still not looking at me. “I should have gone to help him. I should have seen that zombie coming. He died saving me, I shouldn't have let him do that.”

  “None of it was your fault,” I tell her. “It just... happened.”

  “Because of me,” she continues, as a fresh tear runs down her cheek. “If I hadn't been here, he would have survived.”

  “If you hadn't been here,” I reply, “he wouldn't have been here at all. He'd be back in Boston, and he'd probably be dead by now.”

  She pauses, and then suddenly she sits up and turns to me.

  “We have to go back!” she gasps.

  “Elizabeth -”

  “He might still be alive!” she continues. “We didn't see him die! Toad's strong, he probably fought them off! He's probably waiting for us! We have to put this thing in reverse and go back for him!”

  “He's dead, Elizabeth.”

  “You don't know that!”

  “There were zombies all over him!”

  “Toad wouldn't die like that!” she shouts, suddenly sounding angry. “You don't know him! I do! Toad would never die that way!”

  “Elizabeth, I saw -”

  “We're going back for him!”

  “I saw him die!”

  “No, you -”

  “I saw them rip his head off!” I shout. “I didn't want to tell you, but at the last second, as he he fell, I saw his head coming away from his body!”

  “You're a liar!” she snaps.

  “If I thought there was any chance at all,” I continue, “then I'd have already said that we have to go back. But there isn't a chance, Elizabeth. Toad's dead, and the only consolation is that at least those things tore him apart. At least he won't end up being one of them.” I pause, wishing that I hadn't had to tell her what I saw. It was true, though. I did see him die, just before I lost sight of him. There's no doubt there at al
l. “He's gone,” I add finally. “He's gone and he's never coming back.”

  She stares at me for a moment, as if she can't believe what I'm saying, and then suddenly – without any warning at all – she slumps back against the railing and puts her hands over her face, and she starts sobbing.

  “It's okay,” I say, crawling over and putting my arms around her, trying to comfort her as she begins to shake uncontrollably. I try to think of something comforting to say, but it's not as if I can claim that Toad probably died painlessly. Most likely, he died in agony. “It'll be okay,” I add finally, uselessly. “It'll... be okay.”

  “I should have done something,” she whispers, and I'm not sure now whether she's talking to me or just to herself. “He should still be here.”

  Suddenly I hear yelling from the front of the engine. Getting to my feet, I see that the driver is waving at us, and then I realize why. Ahead, ruined skyscrapers are now visible, with smoke still rising from what's left of another city. I watch the morning skyline, and slowly I start to realize that I think I know where we are. A moment later, Elizabeth gets to her feet next to me, and for a moment we stand and stare at our next destination.

  “That's New York, isn't it?” I say finally. “Isn't that where you come from?”

  “It is,” she replies, her voice trembling slightly. “It's home.”

  Epilogue

  Several years ago

  “Joseph, welcome,” Carver said, extending a hand and smiling as he stood in the huge, glass-walled foyer. “I'm so glad you're willing to come and take the leap with us.”

  “Yeah, well...”

  Joseph shook his hand, but at the same time he couldn't help glancing around and feeling a little out of place. The foyer of the building was massive, and clean and sterile too, and Joseph had always been the kind of person who liked to squirrel himself away in darker, murkier corners. In a place like this, there was clearly nowhere to hide, and Joseph worried that everyone would always be wishing him a good morning and asking about his day. The whole place seemed far too friendly.

  “It's hard to turn a job down,” he said finally, turning back to Carver and letting go of his hand, “when they offer to quadruple your pay packet. And when they pay you five years upfront. And when they offer you all the benefits under the sun. To be honest, I was thinking it was all too good to be true, but here I am.” He paused for a moment. “Of course, it's a little strange when the company won't even tell you exactly what you'll be doing, or even what it's called.”

  “Secrecy is of paramount importance here,” Carver said, gesturing for him to follow. “Come on. I'll show you.”

  “I read the paperwork you sent over,” Joseph replied. “I've got to admit, that's some pretty experimental stuff. I got the part about the flu virus, but then one of the sections started going on about radiation and a whole bunch of other stuff. I don't get how it all fits together.”

  “We're reaching rather far into the realms of what's possible,” Carver replied. “That's why we need to hand-pick certain people who we feel will work well on our projects. Of course, the key aspect for us is discretion. I'm sure that you understand, Joseph, why you mustn't speak of your work here to anyone.”

  “Sure, whatever,” Joseph said. “From what I read in those papers, I'm pretty sure you'd have me assassinated if I said a word.”

  He waited for Carver to laugh, but no laugh came.

  A moment later, a woman walked past and smiled at Joseph, and he couldn't help but turn and watch as she hurried away. His gaze naturally drifted to her legs, and for a moment he found himself somewhat mesmerized.

  Suddenly he heard a swooshing sound over his shoulder, and he turned to see that Carver had opened a set of double doors. Joseph opened his mouth to ask another question, but then he saw that the doors led through onto some kind of balcony, overlooking a vast and very busy room. He stepped forward and made his way onto the balcony, and then he stopped and looked out across the largest workshop he'd ever seen in his life. Huge, curved sections of something were being worked on, and hundreds of workers were busy in bays down on the shop-floor. The sight was breathtaking, and Joseph's eyes widened slightly as he tried in vain to take it all in.

  “This is just one of our departments,” Carver said, stepping up behind him. “Welcome to the future, Joseph. Welcome to Project Atherius.”

  COMING SOON

  Days 195 to 202

  (Mass Extinction Event book 9)

  ALREADY AVAILABLE

  1. Days 1 to 4

  2. Days 5 to 8

  3. Days 9 to 16

  4. Days 46 to 53

  5. Days 54 to 61

  6. Day 100

  7. Days 101 to 108

  8. Days 109 to 116

  OTHER BOOKS

  BY AMY CROSS INCLUDE

  Horror

  Stephen

  The Farm

  The Haunting of Hardstone Jail

  Asylum (The Asylum Trilogy book 1)

  Meds (The Asylum Trilogy book 2)

  The Madness of Annie Radford (The Asylum Trilogy book 3)

  The Devil, the Witch and the Whore (The Deal book 1)

  Like Stones on a Crow's Back (The Deal book 2)

  The Devil's Blade

  Haunted

  Devil's Briar

  The Night Girl

  Last Wrong Turn

  Friend From the Internet

  The Haunting of Caldgrave House

  The Haunting of Blackwych Grange

  The Bride of Ashbyrn House

  The Ghosts of Hexley Airport

  The Curse of Wetherley House

  The Haunting of Marshall Heights

  The Ghosts of Lakeforth Hotel

  The Body at Auercliff

  The Soul Auction

  The Border

  Eli's Town

  Laura

  Annie's Room

  The Priest Hole (Nykolas Freeman book 1)

  Battlefield (Nykolas Freeman book 2)

  Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories

  The Ghost of Longthorn Manor and Other Stories

  Room 9 and Other Stories

  Fantasy / Horror

  Grave Girl

  Raven Revivals (Grave Girl book 2)

  The Gravest Girl of All (Grave Girl book 3)

  The Library

  Beautiful Familiar

  Dark Season (book 1, 2 & 3)

  The Hollow Church

  The Vampires of Tor Cliff Asylum

  Dead Souls (book 1 to 13)

  Lupine Howl (books 1 to 6)

  Dystopian / Apocalypse

  Ward Z (The Ward Z Series book 1)

  Terror at Camp Everbee (The Ward Z Series book 2)

  The Dog

  Also by Amy Cross

  THE FARM

  No-one ever remembers what happens to them when they go into the barn at Bondalen farm. Some never come out again, and the rest... Something about them is different.

  In 1979, the farm is home to three young girls. As winter fades to spring, Elizabeth, Kari and Sara each come to face the secrets of the barn, and they each emerge with their own injuries. But someone else is lurking nearby, a man who claims to be Death incarnate, and for these three girls the spring of 1979 is set to end in tragedy.

  In the modern day, meanwhile, Bondalen farm has finally been sold to a new family. Dragged from London by her widowed father, Paula Ridley hates the idea of rural life. Soon, however, she starts to realize that her new home retains hints of its horrific past, while the darkness of the barn still awaits anyone who dares venture inside.

  Set over the course of several decades, The Farm is a horror novel about people who live with no idea of the terror in their midst, and about a girl who finally has a chance to confront a source of great evil that has been feeding on the farm for generations.

  Also by Amy Cross

  ALICE ISN'T WELL

  (DEATH HERSELF BOOK 1)

  “There are lots of demons in the sky above London. The pr
oblem is, this one came crashing down to earth.”

  Ten years ago, Alice Warner was attacked and disfigured by an attacker in her own home. She remembers nothing of the attack, and she has been in a psychiatric hospital ever since. When she's finally released, however, she starts working as a security guard at an abandoned shopping mall. And that's when she starts to realize that something is haunting her, keeping just one step out of sight at all times...

  Meanwhile, seventy years earlier, a little girl named Wendy is left orphaned after a World War 2 fighter plane crashes onto her house. Taken to a monastery, Wendy is quickly singled out by the nuns for special attention. They say she has been possessed by a demon, and that there's only one way to save her soul. Fortunately for Wendy, however, there's someone else who seems to know far more about the situation.

  What is the shocking connection between Alice and Wendy, reaching out across the years? Does a demon really lurk in the girl's soul? And who is Hannah, the mysterious figure who tries to help Wendy, and who seventy years later begins to make her influence felt in Alice's life too?

  Alice Isn't Well is the first book in the Death Herself series, about a dark figure who arrives in the night, promising to help deal with the forces of evil whenever they appear.

  Also by Amy Cross

  MEDS

  (THE ASYLUM TRILOGY BOOK 2)

  “Welcome to the Overflow. And remember, all roads lead back to Lakehurst.”

  At the edge of a ruined town, a burned-out hospital houses one final, functional ward. There, a small group of doctors and nurses tend to patients who have been consigned to the Overflow. Unloved, forgotten by the people who knew them, these are the patients who will never receive visitors. If something happens to them, no-one will ask questions.